Snowfall
by acidonix
Summary: With her flight home cancelled and the drive from Long Island not safe anymore with the blizzard, Annabeth's only option is to stay at Percy's for a couple nights while the snow clears up. Set between BOTL and TLO, Percabeth


The airport was the last place Annabeth wanted to be right now. It was five days before Christmas, and JFK was packed. She hadn't even planned on being in New York right now, but Chiron had called her about an issue with a monster outside the borders, and then there was a huge fight between the Ares and the Aphrodite cabins. The whole camp had smelled like sickening roses and vanilla when she had gotten there from all the perfume bombs that had exploded. She had begged her dad to put her on the next flight and had spent the past week calming things down around there.

Finally, she was on her way back home. Her cousins were coming for Christmas this year, and she knew how mad her dad would have been if she didn't show up. Besides, it was nice sometimes to have a family to celebrate with now.

The snow was coming down hard outside, and the drive here was not fun. It was basically night at all times here, and they were predicting for the snowfall to turn into a blizzard by tomorrow.

An hour later, after a forty-five minute security line with a bunch of angry New Yorkers, she was at gate 11 waiting for her flight. Of course, it never came.

"We're sorry, but flight 425 to San Francisco, nonstop has been cancelled due to inclement weather." The attendant said over the speaker. Annabeth groaned, wishing she was anywhere but here. "Please head to our customer service desk, and we will get you on the soonest flight available."

Annabeth was in a horrible mood. The line at the customer service desk was already halfway down the terminal, and by the time she got up there she was ready to snap.

"Hi!" The lady said, way too cheery for the situation they were in. "Were you on flight 425?"

"Yes, I need to get home. I don't have a place to stay tonight." Annabeth said.

"Unfortunately, all flights to California have been cancelled throughout the whole airport for the next twenty four hours, pending decisions about the next days. We'd love to offer you a discount, though, at some of the nearby hotels here?" The lady asked.

Annabeth glared at her. "I'm fifteen. I can't stay at a hotel, idiot." She snapped, then turned on her heel and left. She felt slightly bad, but she was annoyed and was dreading having to go back to camp. The drive was long, and she didn't want to make Argus suffer through it again. Besides, it really wasn't safe.

"Hi." She said on the phone, once she had gotten to a quieter area. "Is there anyway Argus can come back?" She asked Chiron. "My flight was cancelled."

He paused on the other end. "My dear, it's very unsafe out there."

Annabeth sighed. "I know."

"Is there really no where else you can go?" He asked, knowing full well there was someone she could call.

"I don't want to stay with him." She said defiantly.

"It's the safest and best option for everybody." He said. "It's just a couple nights, Annabeth." Annabeth didn't answer, she just hung up.

Flipping the phone around in her hand a few times, she decided on calling his mom. Somehow, that seemed slightly easier.

"Hello?" Sally answered, her voice warm.

"Hi, this is Annabeth." She said quietly.

"Oh, of course!" She said. "Sorry, I didn't look before I answered. Is everything okay?" She asked.

"Um, yeah, my flight's just been cancelled, and Chiron said that he can't send anybody to come get me from Long Island, so I was wondering if-"

"Sweetie, of course you can come stay with us. Percy isn't home from school yet, but I got off work early because of the snow. I can't drive to come get you, but I can meet you at Jamaica Station if you can take the airtrain there? That way you don't have to navigate the subway with all your luggage and everything."

Annabeth smiled slightly. Why couldn't Percy be more like his mom? "Okay. Thank you so much, I'm so sorry." She said.

"Don't worry about it!" Sally said. "I'll see you soon."

"Okay, thanks." Annabeth said, and hung up, walking towards an exit.

They made awkward small talk on the way back to the Upper East Side and had to transfer twice.

"Percy should be home." Sally said as she held the fob up to the door. There was a click, and she pushed the door open. "I told him to come straight back from school, but you never know." She said, smiling.

Annabeth just nodded. Honestly, she hoped he didn't.

Their small apartment was on the 23rd floor at the end of the hall. It was exactly as Annabeth remembered it. A small front hallway, a square kitchen that somehow Sally made work, a combined living and dining room, and two rooms and a bathroom in the back.

"Percy?" Sally called, as she dropped her keys in the bowl by the door.

"Yeah?" He asked, poking his head out. "Jake and Adam - oh, woah." He said, staring at Annabeth like she had dropped out of the sky. "What's she doing here?"

"Percy!" Sally said. "Gods, what happened between you two?" She asked, then shook her head. "Nevermind, I probably don't want to know. Figure it out, since she's going to be here a couple days. And tell Jake and Adam they need to go home."

"Why?" He asked, Annabeth pulling at her fingers uncomfortably.

"Because I said so. Here, Annabeth, you can help with dinner." She said. "Now, Percy." She repeated when he didn't leave the room.

Annabeth started boiling water for the pasta, and she could hear Percy's voice telling his friend's they had to go home from his room.

"Who's here?" One of them asked.

"Annabeth." He said, and Annabeth blushed. He had talked about her, and she didn't know how to feel about that.

"You mean that hot blonde?" The other one asked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, and Sally sent her an apologetic look. "Sorry about Percy." The older woman said, covering whatever Percy's answer was. "He's been… difficult lately."

Annabeth shrugged. "It's understandable. He literally has the whole world on his shoulders." Sally nodded, cutting up the tomatoes.

"Bye Sally." Jake and Adam said, waving to Annabeth as they grabbed their bags from the front door and left.

Percy came out, wearing nothing but sweats and Annabeth immediately averted her eyes.

Sally scoffed. "Set the table please, and put a shirt on. Nobody wants to eat dinner with you half naked."

"Why not?" Percy asked, laughing. "Fine, fine. Be right back." He said, and Annabeth couldn't help but snicker under her hand.

"Oh, shit." Sally said, searching the fridge for something. "We don't have any cheese. I'm going to run to Whole Foods really quick, I'll be right back. Be good!" She yelled, loud enough for Percy to hear, then grabbed her coat and left.

The apartment was silent except the rustling of Percy's drawers as he hopefully put on a shirt. "You can have my bed, tonight." He said, coming out fully clothed.

Annabeth shook her head. "No, it's yours. The couch is fine, I've slept in worst places."

Percy gave her a look as she turned around from stirring the pasta. "Have you ever had my bolognese? It's so good, I could be famous for it."

Annabeth just rolled her eyes. "I'm sure."

"I'll make it for you one day." He said, giving her a wary look. It was an innocent sentence, one that from the outside looking in would have seemed harmless. But Annabeth knew what the underlying meaning was. He was fishing for anything, any hint that they were still friends, that there would be a next time.

"Of course." She said, smiling. "I'd love to try it."

He grinned. "Cool." He said, and she laughed because that answer was so Percy and she had missed him. "Why didn't you tell me you were in New York?" He asked. "I would've come to camp."

"I know." She said. "I was just busy."

"A phone call doesn't take that long." He said, and she turned around to stop him from seeing the irritated look on her face.

"I never got one from you." She said.

"Annabeth, I thought you were in Frisco." He said.

She was about to snap back when Paul walked in. "Hey, Percy. And… Annabeth, right? What, uh… I thought you lived in California?"

Annabeth laughed. "Yeah, my flight was cancelled."

"Oh, yeah, it's nasty out there." He said, setting down his work bag. "Where's your mom?" He asked Percy.

"The store." He said. "We were out of cheese or something."

Paul just nodded, and grabbed a beer from the fridge. "Well, I won't bother you guys." He said, turning on the TV.

Annabeth could feel Percy's eyes on the back of her head, but she didn't turn around. She didn't know what to think or feel and this was really the wrong timing to have to deal with this.

The four of them ate in silence - well, Percy and Annabeth were silent. Paul and Sally acted like they weren't there and continued on with conversation as normal. After, Percy did the dishes, and Annabeth went out on the fire escape for fresh air. Paul and Sally had gone out for drinks, so it was just the two of them.

She heard his bedroom door open, but she didn't pay attention to him. He climbed out the window and joined her, standing close.

"I should have called." He whispered even though they were completely alone. He brushed her hair off her neck, and Annabeth shivered, hoping he was dense enough to think it was from the cold.

"Yeah." She said quietly. "It's okay."

"It's not." He said, shaking his head, his hand still resting gingerly on her shoulder. "I didn't know what to say."

Annabeth laughed. "Nobody ever does, Percy." She said, turning to look at him. He was staring at her and they were so close and memories of his lips on hers, warm and soft, resurfaces and if she just -

His phone rang, biting through the silent air. "Sorry." He said, quietly.

"You can answer it." Annabeth said. "I'm gonna get ready for bed." She said, grabbing her suitcase from the living room. She was fine until she heard him start talking.

"Rachel?" He asked. "No, sorry, I can't go out tonight, Annabeth's here." They went out? Annabeth's stomach turned to mush, and there was a heavy feeling on her chest. "Okay, yeah, I'll see you later." He said then hung up as Annabeth pushed past him with her shampoo.

After a quick shower, she slipped into old gray sweats and a sports bra. It was only 9:00, but she was still seething and felt like going to bed - or, in other words, not talking to Percy.

"You wanna watch a movie or something?" He asked, poking his head in as she wrung out her curls.

"Not really." She said.

"Okay, well we can do whatever you want." He said. "What about Monopoly?" He asked.

"You can go, if you want." She snapped. "I'll be fine here, I don't need you to babysit me." She said.

"What are you talking about?"

"If you want to go hang out with Rachel, feel free." She said, feeling the need to clean but she wasn't in her house so she just folded the clothes she had messed up back into the suitcase.

"What?" He asked. "A, Rachel and I are just friends. Why do you care if we hang out?" He snapped, and Annabeth felt worse.

"Really? Just friends? Gods, you're so dense." She said, shaking her head.

"Why do you even care? Aren't friends supposed to support each other when it comes to those things?" He said, glaring at her.

Annabeth gave a dry, cold laugh. "Well, I guess I'm just a sucky friend, right?"

He sighed, pulling at her wrist as she stalked past him, not really sure where she was going because it wasn't like she could storm out in the middle of a blizzard. "Annabeth, stop. You're not a bad friend."

"Percy, just stop." She said. "I want to go to bed, I got up at 4 AM this morning and spent the day at the airport. I'll just… I'll see you in the morning." She got a glass of water, and then shut his bedroom door in his face.

"Can you at least throw me a blanket? And a pillow?" He asked.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, grabbed the plaid blanket off the bottom of the bed and his pillow. She opened the door a crack, and threw them at him.

"Goodnight." He said quietly. When she was sure he wasn't standing there anymore, she sunk down on the other side of the door and let a couple tears escape. What was wrong with her? What was wrong with them? They fought over absolutely nothing.

She pulled her knees to her head, and started to cry. She was so tired, of fighting, of being a demigod, of her life. He used to be her rock. He used to make her feel safe and secure and happy to be alive and now… Now he just made her feel hopeless.

-0-

The next morning, they sat there ignoring each other. Percy requested blue pancakes, and Annabeth just chewed on her fingernails. Sally kept looking back and forth between them, but she didn't say anything.

Percy was in an annoyingly good mood for what had happened last night, but he looked like he hadn't slept so that was something.

"Mom, can I borrow your car?" He asked, shoveling his fourth pancake into his mouth.

"Uh, no, it's snowing." She said. "Take the subway."

Percy made a face, and Annabeth smiled despite being mad at him. "I'll take a taxi tonight then." He said.

"Tonight?" She asked. "And where are you going?" Sally raised her eyebrows.  
"Dinner." His response was vague, but Annabeth had a pretty good idea, and she was so pissed at him. Why in the world would he bring it up in front of her again?

Sally just shook her head. "I'm not paying for this taxi."

"I know. Annabeth, get dressed, we're leaving." He said, putting his plate in the sink.

Annabeth scoffed. "I'm not going anywhere with you." She said.

"Please." He said, making that dumb puppy dog face. "I promise I won't be a dick." He said.

Annabeth gave him a look. "I…" She trailed off, not wanting to say yes but also not wanting to spend the whole day locked in their tiny apartment. "Fine."

He grinned. "Good. You have like ten minutes."

"What?" She said, shoving the rest of her pancake in her mouth. "Why?" She asked, listening to him laugh as she ran back to his room. She put on a sweater and jeans, and a puffy coat over it. Luckily, she had brought her cute snow boots. She brushed through her hair, and stared back at her reflection. Well, it was as good as it was gonna get.

"Ready?" Percy asked, and she nodded, grabbing her bag and phone. "Okay, bye mom. See you later." He said, opening the door for Annabeth. "M'lady." He said, grinning.

"Why are you in such a good mood?" Annabeth asked. She wanted to be mad at him, but how could she when he was acting like this? It was making her more annoyed.

Percy shrugged. "Nothing. Silena and Beckendorf are waiting downstairs, so don't freak out when you see them."

Annabeth just looked at him. "What?" She asked.

"You'll see." He said, looking extremely pleased with himself.

Two minutes later, the elevator dinged and Silena and Beckendorf stood outside, laughing together.

"Hi!" Silena squealed when she saw Annabeth, giving her a huge hug. They had always had a weird relationship. They barely talked, but when they did it was like they were best friends. Plus, Silena thought Annabeth was ripe for a makeover, which made Annabeth her favorite toy. "Okay, we're leaving. Our appointment is in fifteen minutes." She said. "Bye boys!" She waved, then dragged Annabeth down the street, heading downtown.

"What are we doing? What appointment?" Annabeth asked. She hated not knowing things, and she hated surprises even more.

"We're going shopping!" Silena squealed.

Annabeth made a face. "I hate shopping."

"You just need a dress." Silena said. "Besides, shopping is very therapeutic." She said, turning right. As soon as they made it to Madison Ave and met their stylist, Annabeth was whisked through store after store, throwing on designer dresses left and right. She wasn't sure who was paying for this, because she wasn't.

Finally, four stores later, she found one. She wasn't sure what she was shopping for, but she liked the dress, so. Silena squealed when she came out of the dressing room, so she took that as a good sign.

It was tight and black, contrasting well with her hair. The top was mesh long sleeves so it was slightly warmer for the winter. She looked good, but she still wasn't sure what she was doing here.

"Oh my gods, you're gorgeous." Silena said. "Oh, it looks so good. You have to get this one." Annabeth stared down at the thousand dollar price tag.

"Silena, I can't… who's buying this?" She asked.

"Annabeth, I'm friends with the designer. It's on us." She said, hugging her. Annabeth resisted the urge to squirm away. She wasn't a huge fan of physical touch.

"I… what are we doing?" Annabeth asked. "I hate surprises, please give me something."

Silena grinned. "Percy just has a surprise."  
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "His surprises usually end in death, but we'll see."

Silena laughed. "Don't worry, I helped. Come on, let's get you out of this and grab some lunch. I'm starved."

After she had changed, they grabbed late thai food on 72nd where they caught up about their lives for the past few months. It was nice, and Annabeth had missed her despite all her flaws.

"Okay, come on, you have to get ready." Silena said. "Percy will meet you at the apartment at 7, so we have a few hours,"

"Silena, it's not going to take me three hours to get ready." Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. Obviously, she shouldn't have doubted Silena's abilities to turn her afternoon into hell, because her hair was yanked on, her skin pulled, and then two hours later she barely looked different, just a better version than herself.

"Good?" Silena asked.

Annabeth stared at herself. It was her but it wasn't. She knew it was just light mascara, some frizz control and a concealer, but she looked good. She looked older, more mature. She loved it, actually, but she wasn't about to give Silena that idea. "Yeah, looks good." She went with.

Silena grinned. "You are so gorgeous." She said. "It's seven right now, so he should be-" She was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Here!" She finished, giggling. "Go, go."

"What are we even doing?" Annabeth asked, staring back at her friend, but she just pushed her along. Annabeth opened the door to a grinning Percy who was wearing a dinner jacket.

"Hi." He said, blushing as he looked her up and down. Usually, when somebody did that on the streets she felt gross the rest of the day, but now… "You look so beautiful." He said, and it was Annabeth's turn to blush.

"Thanks." She said softly.

"Okay, go, stop staring at each other." Silena said. "I'll clean up your bathroom, Percy, since it looks like-" Annabeth cut her off by shutting the door and Percy laughed.

"I hope you like sushi." He said.

Annabeth laughed. "You know I like sushi." She said, smiling.

He grinned. "I know. Did I mention how absolutely gorgeous you look tonight?" He asked, tucking a curl behind her ear.

Annabeth blushed. "Once or twice." She said. "What is all this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He asked. "I'm taking you out."

They got to the restaurant on time after taking a taxi, and Annabeth could only imagine how much he was spending on her right now. The dinner was prepaid for since it was a fixed menu. They laughed and tried everything until Annabeth was way too full, but she was happy.

"Why did you do all this?" She asked, after the two of them had a laughing fit over Percy choking down his eel.

He shrugged. "I don't know."

She gave him a look. "Everybody knows why they do things."

He rolled her eyes. "Okay, nerd. I just felt bad, and… I don't know. Just so you know, I have never been to dinner with Rachel alone. She wanted me to come to her dad's gala thing so it wasn't so horrendous."

"So I'm the only one." She said, teasing him at this point.  
He blushed. "I…"

"Don't worry." She said, laughing. "This was great." She said, smiling softly.

When they got back, Paul and Sally still weren't back and Annabeth was starting to wonder if Percy had told them to get out. She stood in his bathroom, pulling the diamond drop earrings that Silena had also bought her today out of her ears and gingerly placing them on the counter. She picked at her necklace, fumbling with the clasp.

"Here." Percy said, coming up behind her. He swept her hair to the side, and undid it seamlessly. She was starting to wonder if it was really him, but then he dropped it. She laughed, and he blushed, picking it up and setting it next to the earrings. Yeah, it was definitely him.

She was about to tell him to get out, when they locked eyes in the mirror. His hands paused, resting on the back of her neck, her head tilted to the side.

He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, and Annabeth was so shocked that all she could do was stand there. "It's always you and me." He said. "No matter what happens this summer."

Annabeth unglued, and smiled softly. "It always has been." She said. "Now, get out, I'm full and want to put on sweats." She said, the moment broken and Percy laughed, shutting the door as he left.

They watched Netflix after, his bed, although a full, seeming way too small to hold the two of them. Annabeth felt like wherever she put her finger, it found him, if she moved her foot one inch, he was there. Neither of them were watching the movie, that was for sure.

Paul and Sally got home, and Sally opened the door to say goodnight and to make sure Percy was moving after the movie was over.

He nodded, and they went to bed. Twenty minutes later, it was over, and the two of them just sat there, letting whatever movie Netflix thought they wanted to watch next start.

"I should go. We should sleep." He said. It was 1 AM, but Annabeth was wide awake.

Annabeth nodded, but she didn't say anything. He swung his legs over the edge, and she grabbed his hand. "Wait." She said. He turned to stare at her, his eyes wide. "You don't have to sleep on the couch tonight. It's dumb, this bed is big enough for two people."

"Are you sure?" He asked. "The couch is pretty comfy."

Annabeth bit her lip, smiling. "Yeah, I'm sure. Just, don't touch me." She said, an archaic rule that they had installed when they were twelve and had to share a sleeping space a couple times on small quests. They had been awkward back then, though, not sure about their bodies or those weird feelings they had for each other.

There was this unspoken rule between them now. They knew there were feelings there, but neither of them could bring themselves to admit it. Annabeth, for strategic reasons, mostly. She knew if they were together, it would cause chaos, throwing even stronger feelings in the mix this summer. She couldn't right now, and he knew it. In the back of his dumb head, he did. He didn't push her.

He laid back down, stiff as a board next to her. The two of them stared at the ceiling, until finally Annabeth couldn't take it anymore and she moved her hand into his, his fingers responding.

"I thought you said no touching." He said, laughing quietly.

"Shut up." She told him with a smile, then closed her eyes, falling into a dreamless sleep for the first time since she left camp that summer.


End file.
